President Thabo Mbeki is to visit a remote region of the Eastern Cape this weekend to review the progress of a project taking ICT to a village on the wrong side of the digital divide.
Mbeki will visit Tsilitswa in the Qumbu district, where a project is underway to take information and communications technologies to the area.
The project, funded by DAST and led by CSIR Information and Communications Technology (Icomtek), the project involves training in PC literacy and business skills, the provision of information for agricultural projects and the facilitation of distance education and telemedicine projects.
The project has met with enthusiasm from the community. Community leader and school principal JM Jikijela says the project has promoted community cooperation and benefited the area`s hospital, schools and police.
A Multi-purpose Community Centre (MPCC) forms the hub of the project activities, in which the communications platform is housed and community training is undertaken. The MPCC is also responsible for accessing and distributing appropriate information to the community. Linking of clinics and schools is now ready to commence. This will provide access to services and resources, such as government information, telemedicine, information sources and distance education.
With participation by the ARC, HSRC, Technikon Pretoria, Renewable Energies Africa and Naledi ya Afrika, the project framework rests on the integration of four key factors all contributing to local economic development, namely community participation, innovative technologies, quality of life and sustainability.
CSIR Icomtek has successfully participated in a similar project in Lubisi, and is planning another in the North West Province town of Vryburg.
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